Course Syllabus

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Content: This course provides a rigorous introduction to abstract algebra, including group theory and linear algebra.  The formal prerequisites for Math 55 are minimal, but this class does require a commitment to a demanding course, strong interest in mathematics, and some familiarity with proofs and abstract reasoning. 

Important: Due to the course's place in the first-year undergraduate mathematics experience at Harvard and its role in helping our future math concentrators get to know each other and form a community, Math 55 is only open to first-year Harvard College students. 

Lectures: will be held Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays from 10:30 to 11:45, starting Wednesday September 4, in Science Center 507. Students are expected to attend all lectures. Handwritten lecture notes will be provided.

Course staff

  • Prof. Denis Auroux (auroux@math.harvard.edu)  (office hours MW 12:30-1:30 in SC 539; also Fri 12:30-1:30 on Sept 6, 13, 20).
  • Course Assistants: Jinho Park, Cyrus Hamlin, Rohan Nambiar, Sophie Zhu, Stella Li, Enrico Yao-Bate, Jacob Paltrowitz, Madeleine de Belloy, Halyna Bowey, Alvan Arulandu, Stephen Yang

CA office hours: (starting Friday Sept 6):

  • Sundays: Cyrus + Halyna, 7:30-8:30pm, Math Lounge
  • Mondays: Rohan + Stella, 4-5:30pm, Math Lounge
  • Tuesdays: Jinho + Sophie, 7:30-9pm, Math Lounge
  • Wednesdays: Enrico + Stephen, 8-10pm, Math Lounge
  • Thursdays: Alvan, 3-4pm, Lowell Dining Hall
  • Fridays: Jacob + Madeleine, 1-3pm, Science Center 530

The CAs will also hold various one-time discussion sections in order to go over specific material or skill sets (proof writing, LaTeX, review sessions, etc.).  Even if you don't need help with specific problems on the current assignment, attending some office hours or sections is recommended -- it gives you an opportunity to review and ask general questions about the course material (or related topics).  It's also a chance to get to know the CAs and your fellow students in smaller groups.

Textbooks: there are two required texts, Axler's Linear Algebra Done Right and Artin's Algebra.  (We will aim to cover most of Axler, and most of chapters 2-10 in Artin).
Other books that may (or may not) be helpful at various points in the course include Dummit and Foote's Abstract Algebra, Halmos' Naive Set Theory , Halmos' Finite-Dimensional Vector Spaces , Fulton and Harris' Representation Theory: A First Course , and Serre's  Linear Representations of Finite Groups .   Electronic versions of all of these books except for Artin and Dummit & Foote are freely available to Harvard students from the Springer-Verlag website (by clicking on the links above).

Homework will be assigned weekly, and is due on Wednesday each week.  Assignments will be posted on this site, and should be submitted electronically via this website.
Doing the homework in a timely fashion is essential to learning the material properly; given the pace, it is extremely hard to catch up if you fall behind in this class. 
Extensions will be granted for illness or other serious circumstances (having overcommitted yourself does not count), but should be requested ahead of the deadline; outside of these cases, late submissions will incur a penalty to be computed at the end of the semester once your cumulative lateness across all assignments exceeds 96 hours (4 days).

Exams: there will be a midterm (take-home, will be posted Sept 27, due Oct 2) and a take-home final exam (will be posted Dec 5, due Dec 11).

Course grades will be based on your homework (65%), the midterm (10%), and the final exam (25%).
One homework score will be dropped for everyone, so you may miss one assignment without penalty, but you are still responsible for working through the material.

Community:  One of the best features of Math 55 is the sense of community that most students get out of it.  Getting to know the CAs and your fellow students early in the semester, and forming study groups,  is an important part of the experience -- they'll be your support network when the math gets rough. Drop by office hours to introduce yourself and meet others (even if you don't have any specific questions). Participate in the Slack discussions. And please remember: it is up to you to make this community inclusive, welcoming, and supportive of all of its members -- and of all the other people around you, including those who aren't in Math 55.

Academic integrity policy: You are encouraged to discuss and collaborate with each other on the homework assignments. However,  make sure that you can work through the problems yourself, and write up your answers on your own. This is not only a matter of academic integrity, but also crucial for properly learning the material and the problem-solving skills that this course aims to cover.  For exams, collaboration or consultation of sources other than those explicitly permitted is not allowed.

Homework assignments

Direct links to the homework assignments will be posted here as PDF files. Go to "Assignments" to see the LaTeX source, and to submit your solutions. Note: HW3 and beyond will be submitted via Gradescope (submission link on each assignment page)

 

List of Topics and Lecture Notes

Direct links to the lecture notes will be posted here as PDF files.

Here is a tentative list of topics / dates; we may deviate from these.

Course Summary:

Date Details Due